The Ridiculous Man as Existential Hero - Book Report/Review Example

The Ridiculous Man as Existential Hero One of the keystones of existential thought is the utter absurdity, the ridiculousness, of existence. Albert Camus captured this essence of life perfectly when he compared humanity to the struggle of Sisyphus to push a rock to the top of hill despite his certain knowledge that the rock will always, unceasingly, roll back before he can put it over. Nobody knows for certain whether death is the end, or if there is some kind of afterlife. And if there is an afterlife, then what form does it take Will it be everlasting life in paradise as the Christians believe, or a reincarnated existence on earth In a sense, every action undertaken by every human being amounts to mere whistling past the graveyard. While hope certainly exists and is a primary motivation for doing good in the world, the fact remains that any action taken that is not in one's best interest is ultimately ridiculous and absurd. With no guarantee of a later reward, why is the world not in even a bigger mess than it is Why is the crime rate as low as it is Why do people care about others In short, why do people behave in such ridiculous and absurd ways when the only certainty that exists in the world is that each and every one of us will die In his short story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" Fyodor Dostoevsky poses an existential answer to this dilemma by suggesting that choosing to do good is ultimately more important that doing good itself, and that this choice must be based on existence and not on the possibility of life after existence. Existentialism is a word that almost everyone has heard of and most think they know what it means, but few actually understand. The existential philosophy revolves mainly around the concept of the freedom of man to choose. Unlike animals and plants, human beings aren't born with a particular essence. In other words, a horse is a horse, of course. A horse, so far as we know, cannot choose to do good or evil. A horse cannot even choose to be a thoroughbred or a workhorse. Although much theological debate has centered around man's purpose and whether he ultimately even has a purpose, ultimately it must at least be considered that all men choose their purposes. Certainly there are obstacles that prevent certain people from choosing certain purposes: a poor black woman is never going to become President of the United States no matter how much schoolchildren have drilled into them the idea that anyone on American can grow up to become President. It isn't going to happen. Aside from these cultural and ideological roadblocks, however, humans for the most part are the most completely free species on earth. Dostoyevsky's ridiculous man undergoes an epiphany during his dream in which he comes to understand the full import of this freedom. The ridiculous man begins his monologue by acknowledging that he has "always been ridiculous, and I have known it" (2) Although he is comparing himself against other human beings, in a larger sense he is comparing himself to other species. One of the reasons that man is in such an absurd position in the universe is that he knows his fate. He alone is born with the knowledge of his own ultimate demise. This is a key point in the existential view. As Spano write, "As a self-conscious, that is, free, creature, man constitutes a minority in the cosmos governed by natural law. From a rational point of view, then, he is by virtue of his consciousness an anomaly" (5). The ridiculous man reflects this knowledge not only by his realization that he is ridiculous, but also by his otherness. He questions the validity of existence and the purpose. He is rude to people and angry. Then he goes beyond that to a spiritual emptiness, a void. Spanos continues "All the empirical evidence (objects) in the universe leads to the logical conclusion that man ought to commit literal or at least spiritual suicide" (5). While listening to friends excitedly talking about something the ridiculous man realizes that they don't even care about what they are arguing about. He listens to this conversation and he realizes that they are so alienated from what they are discussing that they can't authentically feel anything; all is pretense. Although this is an obvious aspect of the modern condition, although contemporary man is clearly alienated from everything or else why would so much of life be spent enjoying the simulation of reality, it is obvious that even at the time this story takes place the existential dread of so-called progress and mechanization and industrialization and dehumanization was having its effects. In one moment, the ridiculous man realizes that there is no evidence at all to suggest that life is worth living. With no proof of an afterlife, with no proof of a paradise awaiting after death, what is the point The ridiculous man reaches a point of utter despair. Alienation has gripped him completely and when a young girl appeals to him to save some stranger's life, he abandons her. He drives her away. Again, what is the point This person will die regardless, right Turning his back on humanity, the ridiculous man reaches a crisis point. Lavine explains this as an important component of the path to consciousness: "A crisis is happening which suddenly removes you from the ordinary routines of your life. In a situation of crisis you cannot react with your everyday, habitual responses and you are thrown back upon yourself" (329). Unlike the usual crises, an existential crisis is about something concrete that topples your life. 9/11 cannot be considered an existential crisis, but the ridiculous man struggling to become aware of the truth of everyday consciousness by being shown that people no longer are capable of reacting with authentic feelings is deeply existential. The ridiculous man admits he can still feel pain; admits he could still feel pity. And yet he refused to help the little girl. The ridiculous man's reflection upon his own consciousness and how nothingness follows death. In fact, who is to say that with their own death comes the death of everything they believe to be real At the moment of greatest despair and deepest longing for understanding, the ridiculous man does something even more absurd: he falls asleep and dreams. But is a dream What is the difference between a dream and a vision. For that matter, what is the difference between a vision and reality As the ridiculous man says, some dreams "are presented with appalling vividness" (6). People live their lives according to a never-ending series of choices and these choices are made based upon a never-ending series of external stimuli. But are these stimuli any more real than visions The people of the United States, along with the Congress and the President for the most part support the invasion of Iraq based upon the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Despite the fact that those who had actually been there consistently reported there were no WMDs in Iraq, the majority of the population and its leaders supported the war based on evidence collected either from cameras placed in orbit miles above earth or on specious evidence collected by questionable operatives. Thousands are dead because of the "truth" of the evidence of WMDs in Iraq. Who is to say, really, what is more true: the information we are presented as facts every day, or what we see in our dreams at night. In away, it is simply another existential choice as to whether we believe the lies we are told or the truths we dream. The ridiculous man fervently believed in his vision. And why not That vision mirrors probably the most famous story of all time, that of the Fall of Man. In his vision, the ridiculous man is presented with the myth of an eden in which there is not even shame or fighting or jealousy, much less any evil. It is idyllic, at least on the surface. It is a place where everyone could be happy, at least on the surface. But as with all utopias, there is a price to be paid. The ridiculous man momentarily considers keeping to himself the rest of the story, but realizes that it is exactly this part which is the true lesson of his vision. He corrupted this new eden. How did he manage this feat, this ridiculous man, this ordinary human being Clearly, he is not a fallen angel; a serpent in the garden looking to bring about the fall of perfection. As Shestov observes, the ridiculous man did exactly what the serpent did: "He endowed them with our knowledge or, in the language of the Scriptures, he incited them to taste of the fruit of the forbidden tree" (11). After this endowment, after this understanding, the eden follows the course previously followed on earth: loss of innocence, sexual debauchery, competition, nationalism, war. The acquisition of knowledge, as Shestov further writes, "was not enough; the same root put forth ethics; the world was changed, ringed round with law; men, from free creatures, became automata" (11). This argument posits that laws and ethics create a false sense of morality detached from the natural state in which man is born. Indeed, the savage being knows no laws, lives as an animal. But men are not animals, right Men have created laws and rules and we follow them either through choice or coercion or force. Lacking knowledge, lacking ethics, these people were really nothing more than savages themselves, animals following instinct without thought or consciousness. The ridiculous man brings knowledge and corrupts them, but in doing so he also brings them humanity. And from this devastation of paradise, the ridiculous man is reborn. Not only is he reborn, he is in ecstasy. Why Why is knowledge forbidden Why is the acquisition of knowledge the beginning of the downfall of both the biblical eden and the paradise the ridiculous man sees in his dream What is so wrong with knowledge As can be seen throughout history, knowledge has a duality about it. The same knowledge which can be utilized for good can also be utilized for evil. The same knowledge which can create power from the atom to generate electricity for thousands can also be harness to instantly obliterate millions. The ridiculous man comes to understand that knowledge is better than life. To merely exist as in instinctual creature with no ability to reason or to choose is not life at all. Given the choice of living in a paradise in which there is no choice but to do good, or living in a word in which you lead a good life because you choose to, the ridiculous man makes the choice that any existentialist would make. The ecstasy that the ridiculous man feels is the awakening of his consciousness, the awakening of his understanding of both the greatest and the most horrible truth of existence: morality is a choice devoid of anything mitigating circumstances. What could be more ridiculous than to choose to lead a moral life when there is no guarantee of a payoff Mimicking the Bible, the ridiculous man states "the chief thing is to love others like yourself, that's the chief thing" (17). But what, really is to be gained by doing this The ridiculous man fails to mention God or Jesus or an afterlife. In fact, he promises, "Suppose that this paradise will never come to pass (that I understand), yet I shall go on preaching it" (17). And that is exactly the existential choice. The choice to be good, to be moral, to understand that morality is a choice. Up to this moment, the ridiculous man has been alienated and indifferent to the world around him. He has been indifferent because he has questioned the validity of expectations. Remember, from the beginning he has seen himself as ridiculous. He describes others as calling him ridiculous. He was educated and knowledge revealed his inability to understand. As he says, "the more I learned, the more thoroughly I understood that I was ridiculous" (2). A disconnect has always run through the ridiculous man. He has always been distanced from those around him and this is the mark of an existential hero. An existential hero must always be apart from those around him because there is always the nagging question about reality. It is not coincidental that the ridiculous man comes to understand because of a vision. His disconnect from what is deemed natural condemns him to a life of questioning what is tossed at him. What seems natural and normal and real must always be considered with suspicion to the existential hero and because of this he will forever be deemed ridiculous. Why can he not just accept life and go on Why are there so many who refuse to go along with plan; to take in the images consistently provided them and accept it as reality Because for the ridiculous man, a person has to want to rise above the dream that we take for reality. It is far too easy to accept the lies and deceit that pass for reality. The ridiculous man saw things in a vision and he is deemed a madman because of it, but wasn't his vision just a rewriting of the reality that billions of people have followed for centuries. Because it wasn't introduced to him via the media we deem reality, he is suspect. But his vision captures perfectly the model of morality followed blindly by an entire religion. Knowledge is the key to happiness. The ridiculous man comes to this particular brand of knowledge and realizes that true happiness can be attained in this world only by choosing to be good. It is not enough to be an automaton, blindly following a set of rules that promise happiness, even eternal happiness. Ethics and morality are nothing if we don't have the ability to choose to say no. Morality is meaningless if one doesn't also possess the chance to deny it. The ridiculous man is ridiculous, perhaps even mad, simply because he understands that the real key to happiness is knowledge. The knowledge that at any time, he can choose to forsake ethical laws and morality and he will still end up exactly in the same position as everybody else. The good man and the bad man will both meet the same end. Death is the ultimate equalizer and so far no proof has been offered that choosing to be bad is any worse than choosing to be good. It is absurd to suggest that morality is a necessary component of existence. It isn't. One can be good, bad or even indifferent to all that goes on around them and they won't be in any better or worse shape when it's all over than anyone else. So why choose to be good Why choose to live a moral life It is ridiculous to do so. And yet is really the only choice any of us can make. Works Cited Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. "Dream of a Ridiculous Man." Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing. Lavine, T.Z. From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest. New York: Bantam Books, 1984. Shestov, Lev. "In Job's Balances." http://shestov.by.ru/ijb/jb1_11.html 19 December 2005. Spanos, William V. "Abraham, Sisyphus, and the Furies: Some Introductory Notes on Existentialism." A Casebook on Existentialism. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1966. Read More